Hinged insulated concrete form

ABSTRACT

An insulated concrete form is provided with a hinge on one of the side walls and indicia on the opposite side wall. The indicia indicate a desired angle for a wall being constructed, and which presents cut lines to remove a section of the opposite wall. The concrete form is then rotated about the hinge to the desired angle and set in place. A plurality of sections may be stacked to form a wall of any desired height and length.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to concrete form and, more particularly,to insulated concrete forms that may be configured at any desired angle.

Insulated concrete forms made of polymeric foam material are known. Suchforms generally include a pair of laterally spaced-apart side walls madeof polymeric foam which present a cavity therebetween. A plurality ofthese forms is connected together to present longitudinally andvertically aligned cavities for pouring concrete therein.

One problem with these concrete forms is that they cannot easily bemanipulated to form walls with corners with angles other than 90 or 135degrees. If a wall being formed includes a 150 degree angle, forexample, the concrete forms have to be cut and fitted together. Whenconcrete is poured into the forms, if the corners are not sealedconcrete may leak through the gaps at the corner. The leaked concreterequires additional time for clean up, finishing once the concrete hasset, or is not aesthetically pleasing. This process of sealing thecorners requires additional OSB to seal the gaps in the foam as well asadditional bracing. Furthermore, mismatched or poorly cut forms resultin waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An insulated concrete form is provided that includes a hinge in one ofthe side walls. The hinge permits the concrete form to be adapted to adesired angle while sealing one corner of the form. The other side ofthe form may be cut to the desired angle and the form set in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the insulated concrete form withan integrated hinge of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left end view of the insulated concrete form of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the insulated concrete form of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is the insulated concrete form of FIG. 3 shown with a sectionremoved.

FIG. 5 is the insulated concrete form of FIG. 4 with a section pivotedto a desired angle.

FIG. 6 is the insulated concrete form of FIG. 3 with indicia for angledcuts.

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the insulated concrete form of FIG.6 showing indicia corresponding to the indicia of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a partial wall showing alternatinghinged corners.

DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, a hinged insulated concrete form ofthe present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10.Insulated concrete form 10 includes a pair of sidewalls 12 and 14 heldin a spaced-apart relationship by ribs or form ties 16 to form a channel18. The top and bottom surfaces of sidewalls 12 and 14 include analternating pattern of raised blocks 20 which allow the forms 10 to bestacked and locked together to form a wall.

The ribs 16 may includes fingers (not shown) extending upwardly ordownwardly to secure rebar (not shown) running longitudinally throughthe channel 18 to reinforce concrete poured in the channel 18. Thesidewalls 12 and 14 are made of a polymeric material known in the artwith the ribs 16 typically made of molded plastic. The ends of the ribs16 are embedded in the sidewalls 12 and 14 to maintain an even spacingand to provide lateral support for the concrete wall.

Sidewall 14 includes an embedded hinge 22 which runs from the top to thebottom of sidewall 14. A piano-type hinge is shown in FIG. 1, however,two or more separate hinges may be used. It is contemplated that thehinge may be a solid plastic or other suitable material piece bendablealong a fold line. On the channel side surface 24 of sidewall 14, aV-shaped notch 26 is provided to allow clearance for the hinged sidewall14 as further described below.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, to make a corner of any desired angle, asection 28 of the sidewall 12 is removed by cutting the foam to thedesired angle. As shown in FIG. 4, the sidewall 12 is cut at a 15 degreeangle on either side of a line normal to the surface of sidewall 12 andintersecting hinge 22 in sidewall 14. With a section of sidewall 12removed, the end 30 of form 10 may be pivoted about hinge 22 until theexposed surfaces 32 and 34 of sidewall 12 meet to form a 150 degreeangle, and thus a 60 degree corner.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, three different angled cuts are illustratedwith the corresponding section which would be removed from sidewall 12.The raised blocks are not shown in FIG. 6 to clearly show the indicia.On the upper 38 and side 40 surfaces of sidewall 12, template lines areshown which correspond to a desired angled corner. For example, templatelines 42 correspond to a section 44 which may be removed from sidewalls12 to form a 150 degree corner as shown above in FIG. 5. Template lines46 correspond to a section 48 which may be removed from sidewall 12 toform a a 135 degree corner. Likewise, template lines 50 correspond tosection 52 which may be removed from sidewall 12 to form a 120 degreecorner. The template lines may be included to provide the user with aquick and accurate way to cut the form 10 to create the desired cornerangle. The three sets of lines shown are for illustrative purposes only.Additional lines may be provided in five degree increments and include alabel or color coding, for example. The template lines may also beprinted on the inside and bottom surfaces of sidewall 12 to aid theworker in making an accurate cut.

Referring to FIG. 8, a series of insulated concrete forms 10 may befitted together and stacked alternating the pattern to form a wall 60.Once the wall is completed, concrete may be poured into the channel 18to form a structural wall for a foundation or above grade wall for ahouse or other building. Finishing materials such as drywall (on theinterior surface), rock or stucco (on the exterior surface) may beapplied directly to the surfaces of the forms 10 to finish the wall asdesired.

It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention havebeen illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto, except in sofar as such limitations are included in the following claims andallowable equivalents thereof.

1. An insulated concrete form comprising: first and second laterallyspaced apart sidewalls for presenting a cavity therebetween, saidsidewalls joined by a plurality of ribs, a hinge embedded in said firstsidewall and dividing said first side wall into left and right halves,and indicia affixed to an upper surface of said second sidewall oppositesaid hinge, wherein said indicia demark cut lines for removing a sectionof said second sidewall corresponding to a desired angle, and whereinwhen said section is removed said first sidewall is pivoted about saidhinge to said desired angle.
 2. The insulated concrete form as set forthin claim 1 further comprising a plurality of indicia affixed to saidupper surface of said second sidewall opposite said hinge correspondingto a plurality of angles.
 3. The insulated concrete form as set forth inclaim 1 further comprising indicia on an inner and outer surface of saidsecond sidewall aligned with the ends of said indicia on said uppersurface of said second side wall.
 4. The insulated concrete form as setforth in claim 1 wherein said hinge extends from an upper surface ofsaid first sidewall to a lower surface of said sidewall.
 5. Theinsulated concrete form as set forth in claim 1 wherein said desiredangle is from 180 degrees to 90 degrees.
 6. The insulated concrete formas set forth in claim 1 wherein said desired angle is less than 90degrees.
 7. An insulated concrete form comprising: first and secondlaterally spaced apart sidewalls for presenting a cavity therebetween,said sidewalls joined by a plurality of ribs, a hinge embedded in saidfirst sidewall and dividing said first side wall into left and righthalves, and indicia affixed to an upper surface of said second sidewallopposite said hinge corresponding to a plurality of angles, wherein saidindicia demark cut lines for removing a section of said second sidewallcorresponding to a desired angle, and wherein when said section isremoved said first sidewall is pivoted about said hinge to said desiredangle.
 8. The insulated concrete form as set forth in claim 7 furthercomprising indicia on an inner and outer surface of said second sidewallaligned with the ends of said indicia on said upper surface of saidsecond side wall.
 9. The insulated concrete form as set forth in claim 7wherein said hinge extends from an upper surface of said first sidewallto a lower surface of said sidewall.
 10. The insulated concrete form asset forth in claim 7 wherein said desired angle is from 180 degrees to90 degrees.
 11. The insulated concrete form as set forth in claim 7wherein said desired angle is less than 90 degrees.
 12. An insulatedconcrete form comprising: first and second laterally spaced apartsidewalls for presenting a cavity therebetween, said sidewalls joined bya plurality of ribs, a hinge embedded in said first sidewall anddividing said first side wall into left and right halves, and firstindicia affixed to an upper surface of said second sidewall oppositesaid hinge corresponding to a plurality of angles, second indicia on aninner surface of said second sidewall aligned with one end of said firstindicia on said upper surface of said second side wall, third indicia onan outer surface of said second sidewall aligned with another end ofsaid first indicia on said upper surface of said second side wall.wherein said indicia demark cut lines for removing a section of saidsecond sidewall corresponding to a desired angle, and wherein when saidsection is removed said first sidewall is pivoted about said hinge tosaid desired angle.
 13. The insulated concrete form as set forth inclaim 12 wherein said hinge extends from an upper surface of said firstsidewall to a lower surface of said sidewall.
 14. The insulated concreteform as set forth in claim 12 wherein said desired angle is from 180degrees to 90 degrees.
 15. The insulated concrete form as set forth inclaim 12 wherein said desired angle is less than 90 degrees.